The best cozy diving games are ABZU (a wordless swim with no air to worry about), Beyond Blue (a dive with a scientist and a pod of whales) and Loddlenaut (clean a dirty sea and watch it come back to life). For a long game with diving every day, play Dave the Diver. For a short snorkel between sailing trips, try our own game, A Short Sail. Below are 8 picks, grouped by why you go under.
At a glance
| Game | Best for | Length | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABZU | Anyone who wants one quiet evening under the sea | About 2 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One |
| Beyond Blue | Nature lovers who want to learn while they swim | About 2.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch |
| In Other Waters | Curious players who like reading and a quiet mystery | About 5 hours (player estimates) | PC, Mac, Switch |
| Loddlenaut | Players who want a calm job and cute creatures | About 4 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Switch |
| Dave the Diver | Players who want a long game with a dive every day | About 25 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox |
| A Short Sail | Players who want a short snorkel between trips on a sailboat | Not shared yet | PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck |
| Coral Island | Farm sim fans who want the ocean in their week | About 57 hours (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X |
| Under the Waves | Players who want a slow, sad story in a quiet place | About 7.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox |
What makes a diving game cozy
A diving game is cozy when the water feels like a gift, not a threat. The best ones give you bright reefs, curious fish, and room to just float and look. Many drop the oxygen meter, or make it generous. The dark trench and the big predator, if there are any, stay in the background.
This guide is about the dive itself: why you go under and how it feels. Our broader cozy ocean games guide also covers life on top of the water. If you want to stay dry, see best cozy sailing games and cozy fishing games.
Our picks
- Most relaxing: ABZU
- Best for sea life facts: Beyond Blue
- Most unusual: In Other Waters
- Best for cleaning the sea: Loddlenaut
- Best long game: Dave the Diver
- Best snorkel between sailing trips: A Short Sail
How we picked
Every game here has diving or swimming under water as a real part of play, not a single scene. We left out survival and horror games, and we say where a pick has danger. We took platforms and Steam Deck status from each game’s Steam page, and lengths from HowLongToBeat.
Dive just to look
ABZU
Who it is for: anyone who wants one quiet evening under the sea.
You are a diver who swims through bright reefs, kelp forests and deep trenches, with schools of fish, whales and turtles all around you. There are no words, no enemies and no oxygen meter. You can sit on meditation spots and just watch the fish swim by. The music is lovely.
It is short, about two hours, and the story is vague by design. A few later parts are darker.
Developer: Giant Squid | Year: 2016 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Length: about 2 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Dive for science
Beyond Blue
Who it is for: nature lovers who want to learn while they swim.
You play Mirai, a deep-sea explorer who studies a pod of sperm whales and the life around them. You scan animals, tag them and learn real facts. Short films about the real ocean unlock as you play. There is no combat.
It is short, and the story and voice acting are simple. Some players wish there was more to do between the dives.
Developer: E-Line Media | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | Length: about 2.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
In Other Waters
Who it is for: curious players who like reading and a quiet mystery.
You are the AI of a diving suit, and you guide a biologist named Ellery through an alien ocean. You never see the sea directly. Instead, you plot her path on a glowing map, take samples and log new life in her notes. Slowly, a story about why she came there opens up. There is no combat.
It is mostly text and a map, so it is not a game for looking at fish. Most players finish the story in about 5 hours.
Developer: Jump Over The Age | Year: 2020 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch | Length: about 5 hours (player estimates) | Steam page
Dive with a job to do
Loddlenaut
Who it is for: players who want a calm job and cute creatures.
You land on an ocean planet that a company has made dirty. You swim, clean up trash and goo, and look after cute creatures called loddles. As the water clears, the reefs come back to life, and you can see your work.
It is short, and the cleaning loop can repeat. More like it are in games like Loddlenaut.
Developer: Moon Lagoon | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch | Length: about 4 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Dave the Diver
Who it is for: players who want a long game with a dive every day.
By day you dive in the Blue Hole to catch fish and find what is down there. By night you serve your catch at a sushi bar. The dives change each day, and there is a big, funny story with many side jobs.
Your oxygen tank is also your health, and some sea creatures attack you, so it is not fully calm. The night shifts are timed.
Developer: Mintrocket | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox | Length: about 25 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
A Short Sail
Who it is for: players who want a short snorkel between trips on a sailboat.
You are a little tabby cat with a sailboat, and the islands need your help. You pick up letters and parcels, pack them into your hold, and deliver them to folks. You fish by day and by night, chat with the islanders and make new friends, and build your home island, one plank at a time.
Diving is one part of the game, not the whole of it: most of your time is spent sailing, fishing and making friends. There are no timers, and there is no fighting on foot, only gentle sea battles against storms and living waves. It is still in development, and a free demo plays in your browser now.
Developer: Yos Riady | Platforms: PC (Windows), Mac, Web, Steam Deck | Length: not shared yet | Free demo at play.ashortsail.com | Play the demo
Coral Island
Who it is for: farm sim fans who want the ocean in their week.
Coral Island is a tropical farm life sim, but its ocean is a big part of it. After about a week you unlock diving. The reef starts covered in trash. You clear it, heal the coral and open deeper parts of the reef, with new sea life and finds as you go.
It is a long farm game first, so the diving is one part of many. Its mines have monsters.
Developer: Stairway Games | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S | Length: about 57 hours (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Verified | Steam page
Dive into a story
Under the Waves
Who it is for: players who want a slow, sad story in a quiet place.
It is the 1970s, and you are Stan, a diver who works alone on the floor of the North Sea. You explore wrecks and do repair jobs, and you face the grief that sent him there. There is no combat, and you get around in a small submarine.
It is a story about loss, so it is heavy. On Steam Deck it is marked Unsupported, so play it on a PC.
Developer: Parallel Studio | Year: 2023 | Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox | Length: about 7.5 hours for the main story (HowLongToBeat) | Steam Deck: Unsupported | Steam page
Watch out
- Subnautica: a huge alien ocean, but it is a survival game. Creative mode removes hunger and air, yet the deep is still dark and big creatures can scare you.
- Endless Ocean Luminous: a calm diving game from Arika and Nintendo, but it is on Nintendo Switch only, not on PC.
Related guides
- Cozy ocean games: diving and life on the water.
- Games like Loddlenaut: calm dives and tidy-ups.
- Games like Dave the Diver: more fish, more jobs.
- Best cozy beach games: sun, sand and the sea.
- Best cozy nature games: forests, seas and wild places.
Questions
What is the most relaxing diving game?
ABZU is the most relaxing diving game on PC. You swim through bright reefs and kelp forests with schools of fish and whales, and there is no oxygen meter, no enemies and no words. You can even sit on meditation spots and watch the fish. It takes about 2 hours.
Is there a cozy snorkeling game?
Yes. A Short Sail, our own game, gives you a snorkel to swim over reefs and old ruins under the sea, between sailing trips to the islands. Coral Island also has diving: after about a week in the game, you dive to clean and heal its reef.
What is a diving game where you learn about sea life?
Beyond Blue. You play Mirai, a deep-sea explorer who studies sperm whales. You scan and tag animals and learn real facts, and short films about the real ocean unlock as you play. In Other Waters is also about science: you guide a biologist through an alien sea and log its life.
Is Subnautica a cozy diving game?
Not really. Subnautica is a survival game on an alien ocean. Creative mode removes hunger and air, so you can build and explore at your own pace. But the deep water is still dark and large creatures can scare you, so many players find it tense.
Is there a diving game where you clean the ocean?
Yes. In Loddlenaut you clean a polluted ocean planet and look after cute creatures called loddles, and the reefs grow back as the water clears. In Coral Island you clear trash from the reef and heal the coral to open deeper parts of it.
What is a long diving game?
Dave the Diver takes about 25 hours for the main story, according to HowLongToBeat. You dive by day to catch fish and serve them at a sushi bar by night. Coral Island is even longer, at about 57 hours, but diving is only one part of its farm life.
Is Endless Ocean on PC?
No. Endless Ocean Luminous, the 2024 diving game from Arika and Nintendo, is on Nintendo Switch only. On PC, ABZU and Beyond Blue give the closest calm, free-swimming feel, with bright reefs, whales, turtles and no danger to worry about at all.
